A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

        FOR RELEASE                             Contact: Melinda Kitchell         December 18, 1995                                  (202) 401-1008

Efforts to Help American Children Learn to Read and Achieve to High Standards Hang in Jeopardy

Six-year-old Bianca Thomas, a first-grader at Charles F. Hard Elementary School in Bessemer, Alabama, bounds into school each morning eager to build on her recent progress in reading, mathematics and language skills. Bianca's success in school has been enriched by learning opportunities made possible through the federal Title I basic skills program, which provides extra help to students attending low-income schools throughout America.

But Bianca's enhanced learning opportunities hang in jeopardy as Congress considers making the largest cut in the nation's history to Title I and other education programs. If the cuts become reality, Bianca and her classmates in this disadvantaged community near Birmingham could lose hard-earned gains in basic skills and risk the confidence they have developed through the use of technology in school.

The cuts proposed by Congress are slated to sever education services for 1.1 million children like Bianca who are at risk of school failure. States and school districts nationwide stand to lose 17.1 percent of their federal Title I funds if House-endorsed cuts of $1.1 billion are adopted. Title I is the largest program in America to provide tutoring, smaller classes, extra time, and computer assistance to help students learn to read, write and do math.

Bianca's teacher, Rene Taylor, reports that "while Bianca was shy and timid at the start of the school year, she now sits at the edge of her seat anxiously, waiting to begin her morning session of work on reading and writing skills in the classroom's computer laboratory." Title I funds have enabled the school to purchase nearly 100 computers, and many classrooms offer three-computer stations.

"Bianca's skills have jumped from writing lists of words to being able to construct five-sentence paragraphs, and her reading and math test scores have increased dramatically this fall," says Taylor. She attributes Bianca's school success to her enthusiastic use of interactive technology available in the computer laboratory during the school day and twice a week in the school's after-school enrichment program, also funded by Title I.

Teachers say the proposed budget cuts could cripple efforts to enrich and accelerate learning opportunities for disadvantaged children, provide early learning experiences to help prevent school failure later, and narrow the achievement gap between schools with adequate resources and disadvantaged schools.

To improve student achievement at C.F. Hard, principal Seth Goldman, teachers and local school district officials have worked since the late 1980s to continuously update and add to the school's computer network. Using technology helps engage children in learning, offers additional instruction without additional teachers, and helps children work at their own pace but to their full potential -- all with Title I funds. Students have ready access to computers and software in the classroom, receive individualized instruction and critiques via networks from teachers, and have access to enrichment labs during and after school.

All 638 children at the K-6 school benefit from Title I funds. Ninety-five percent of the children are from poor families and more than 75 percent are from single-parent families.

Wiithout the additional help that federal monies make possible, our community would not be able to offer all this to our children," said Goldman. "We traditionally scored at the bottom in our school district, but in the last two years we have made consistent gains. As the Title I guidelines urged us, we don't just concentrate on the basics. Instead, we aim for high-level skills for all children. It works. We are now achieving more."

Goldman says that in addition to incorporating technology into the school's program, Title I funds support hiring additional teachers and teaching assistants, on-going staff training, and an after-school tutoring program that focuses on basic skills and draws parents into the school. Increasing parental involvement through parent/school compacts that commit parents, students and teachers to learning, as well as after-school programs that offer extra learning time for children who need extra help, are among the school's other priorities. "Just because our children come from low-income areas, we don't accept that as a reason that children can't learn," Mr. Goldman observes. "Children and families have to take responsibility for learning.

"With federal support, we provide students a chance to learn by using technology, we attract and retain teachers who are eager to teach, and we offer a solid curriculum to develop advanced skills and move our children along academically," said Goldman. "Students who need extra help can attend the after-school program, and parents are encouraged to get involved with their children's learning. Without federal help, we would not be able to do this."

Title I grants to school districts provide supplemental financial assistance to almost all school districts in the country and to about 53,000 schools, especially in low-income areas.

Funds help improve the teaching and learning of at-risk children to enable them to master the basics and core subjects, based on high academic standards. Funds are allocated to states, which suballocate funds to districts. Within districts, funds go to schools with the highest proportions of children from low-income areas.